Bob Hope passenger numbers down in 2011

Downward trend continues at the airport, with parking revenue following suit.

February 07, 2012|By Mark Kellam, mark.kellam@latimes.com

The entry circle at the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank on Monday,…

Bob Hope Airport in December continued to see fewer passengers compared to a year ago, officials reported this week, part of a prolonged trend that has also affected the airfield’s revenues.

According to the latest round of figures reported to the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority on Monday, passenger traffic at Bob Hope dropped about 2.4% in December compared to the same period in 2010, although that was at a slower pace than the 3.25% in November, officials reported.

The airport handled 359,272 passengers in December, down from 368,326 passengers the year prior, and was below budget projections, said airport spokesman Victor Gill.

For the year, about 4.3 million passengers traveled through the airfield from January through December 2011, down about 3.6% for 2010, when there were more than 4.4 million.

American Airlines, which will end service at Bob Hope Airport on Thursday, saw its numbers drop from 26,516 in December 2010 to 21,916 in December 2011, when the carrier dropped one daily round-trip flight to Dallas-Fort Worth.

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Parking revenues in December also continued their decline, according to the report, bringing in about $1.42 million, or about 3.8% below budget projections of $1.47 million, Gill said.

In a four-year analysis since fiscal year 2008, officials discovered that the decrease in the number of tickets sold varied by lot.

For example, Economy Lot C, which is near the Marriott Hotel and has a $10 daily charge, was the least affected, experiencing a 21% decline in number of tickets sold.

The lots that lost the most tickets were Economy Lots A and B, as well as short-term parking, all of which experienced drops of more than 50%.

Lot E, which is closest to the airport and costs $21 a day, saw a 27% decrease. It costs the same as valet parking, Gill said, but people park there because it’s “perceived” as a short walk to the terminal.

Valet parking has also decreased significantly, Gill said.

But when looking at average revenue-per-parking customer, there was an increase.

In July 2007, the average revenue per ticket was $21.84, while the average climbed to $27.42 at the end of December 2011, Gill said, which means fewer tickets for parking were dispensed, but the customers stayed longer or parked in more expensive lots.

Dan Feger, the airport’s executive director, said some of the decrease in parking revenues could also be a result of more people being driven to the airport.